A team from the New Mexico State University Cooperative Extension Service has been working to educate the public about the hazards of rinsing raw poultry and address common misconceptions about poultry food safety through a campaign called “Don’t Wash Your Chicken.” The media production team from NMSU’s Innovation Media Research and Extension and Learning Games Lab in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences has been rewarded with a national award.
NMSU’s team designed four animated videos and a social media toolkit that explains why washing poultry is such a risky practice. Rinsing poultry aerosolizes the bacteria, which can then travel throughout the kitchen to surfaces that aren’t often washed, or to prepared food which is ready to be eaten. Their approach, which includes animations that show how the bacteria travel and explain that the best approach is to remove any present, was honored in the social media category at the Association for Communication Excellence annual conference in Ashville, North Carolina, June 11-13.
Innovation Media Research and Extension Department Head Barbara Chamberlin understands the importance of the campaign as someone with not only a professional connection to the project as one of the principal investigators but also a personal one after losing a family member to food borne illness.
“When we cook our food safely, we prevent sickness and death. Treating raw poultry properly is simple, if you know what to do,” Chamberlin said. “I’m excited that this campaign can reach a new group of cooks in keeping their families safe.”
The goal of the new campaign was to address barriers of the almost 60% of home cooks who continue to wash poultry but were open to learning more about the health risks and possibly changing their behavior. NMSU’s team created three specific counter-messages: it’s risky; it’s unnecessary; and there’s a better way.
The first “Don’t Wash Your Chicken” campaign debuted in 2013 campaign with a series of videos including a short “Germ-Vision” animation that showed the level of contamination when raw poultry is washed. The video was featured on major television networks including the “Today” show. The campaign was based on research from Jennifer Quinlan, nutrition science professor at Drexel University and principal investigator on the project.
“Dr. Quinlan’s research tells us that some people feel very strongly about the chicken-washing step,” Chamberlin said. “Maybe their grandmother taught them to wash it as part of keeping a clean kitchen. We love our grandmas, but our chicken is processed differently now, so we need to change some things they taught us. This campaign can help with that. All of our grandmothers want us to keep our family healthy.”
The most recent campaign began in 2020 with a focus on the misconceptions that cause home cooks to continue to rinse raw poultry and offers specific reasons to not wash chicken and suggestions of what to do instead. The project joined with the Partnership for Food Safety Education, known as Fight BAC!, for the new campaign and a website was developed, fightbac.org/poultry.
While the project was led by Quinlan, NMSU’s team includes Chamberlin, Assistant Professor Pamela N. Martinez, program manager Adrián Aguirre, editor Amy Smith-Muise, artists Anastasia Hames, Evan Evans, Gerritt McGill and social media expert Jeffrey Buras. From the Partnership for Food Safety Education, Shelley Feist and Britanny Saunier collaborated with the team.
“Preparing food for our loved ones is a gift,” Chamberlin said. “We spend time finding the right recipes, making food healthy and fresh, and cost effective. With this campaign, we can help all cooks make food that is also safe.”
To learn more about NMSU’s “Don’t Wash Your Chicken” project, visit dontwashyourchicken.nmsu.edu.
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CUTLINE: New Mexico State University Senior Multi-Media Specialist Jeffrey Buras (from left) and Innovation Media Research and Extension Department Head Barbara Chamberlin accepted the Association for Communication Excellence award for the “Don’t Wash Your Chicken” campaign from ACE President Ricky Telg. (Courtesy photo)